The F150 MPG

Been a light night for television viewing tonight so it was a little tough to find something but there is one thing that has bothered me a few times over the last few weeks.  It has to do with playing numbers and what should really be false advertising.



So Ford has been doing these commercials where they "swap" someones ride.  The premise is that they give you a vehicle to drive that is in the same class as your current vehicle.  The one that really bothers me is the one where they are swapping for a Ford F150 for a Chevy Silverado.  They talk about how the Ford is better at towing, how the backup camera is great, and how the mileage is better.  The statement is that the Chevy gets around 16MPG at best where the Ford is rated for 22MPG.  That argument leaves the door open for some real issues.


Let's begin with the mileage as that is what bothers me most and will actually lead to the rest.  There are 2 issues with it.  First, you are comparing actual mileage versus an expected mileage rating.  As many have pointed out in the past, what the EPA predicts is often much different than what you will get in the real world.  The other issue, if you read the fine print you will notice that they are comparing a Ford with a V-6 to a Chevy with a V-8.  Talk about comparing apples and oranges!  In most situations a V-6 is going to get better mileage than a V-8, that's just the way it is.  You would likely see them balance out when you are towing.  The V-8 won't have to work as hard so the decrease in mileage won't be nearly as much as it will be with the V-6.


And that leads to the towing aspect of the commercial.  To begin with, I believe the boat they are towing is small enough that you would have little issue towing it with a compact truck (think Tacoma, Colorado, etc.).  So why would anyone have an issue towing it with a full-size truck?  And if the Ford is better at towing it than the Chevy, does the Ford in fact have a V-8 rather than the V-6 they are talking about with regards to the mileage?


So that leaves us with the backup camera.  What might I have a complaint about with that?  Well to start with if that is all that you really have that your competition doesn't, you are in a sad state!  And that is what I gather from the commercial.  But the real problem that I have with it is that having a camera like this makes it less likely that someone is going to look out the back window to see where they are going.  It is one step above backing up using your mirrors only mind you, but it is a very small step.